''Octarrhena'', commonly known as grub orchids,
is a
genus of
flowering plants from the orchid family,
Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small, orchids with short stems, thin roots, short, thick, fleshy leaves arranged in two ranks and tiny flowers. The
labellum is rigidly attached to the base of the
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. There are about fifty species native to areas from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and
Malesia to the Western
Pacific.
Description
Orchids in the genus ''Octarrhena'' are small
epiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
,
lithophytic
Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...
or
terrestrial herbs
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
with thin roots and short stems with short, thick, fleshy leaves, their bases sheathing the stem. A large number of tiny, usually white, cream-coloured, yellowish or greenish flowers are arranged on a flowering stem arising from a leaf
axil
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular pl